Panel accuses education
of institutional racism
By PATTI MINTON
Of the Emerald
“If you loot one store and burn two, how many
do you have left?” Jokingly, Nathan Hare, editor of
Black Scholar and former director of Black Studies
at San Francisco State, proposed this question as an
ideal one for a relevant and non-racist elementary
math class.
Hare was one of seven panelists who discussed
“Racism and Education” yesterday morning at the
ASUO-sponsored Racism Symposium.
Also on the panel were Harry Edwards,
assistant Professor of sociology at the University of
California at Berkeley, Art Pearl, professor of
education at the University, Dennis Banks of the
Native American Indian Movement, Brown Berets
Prime Minister David Sanchez and Bob Morales,
student representative for the High School
Equivalency Program (HEP).
Edwards opened discussion by accusing the
educational system of preparing persons solely for
jobs. “The richest schools in any university are
Medical and Business,” he pointed out.
He emphasized that the focus of education must
change from “making a living to learning to live
together.”
“Dow Chemical, General Motors and DuPont
are going to have to put money into other types of
programs,” he said. “Only the technically skilled
are prepared, and some of them are catching hell,”
he added, referring to the aerospace industry.
Dennis Banks continued by saying “Education
has failed miserably with the Indian student. It is
destroying Indian students’ minds at a very early
age.”
“I have failed to see where the system has told
the truth,” he added. “Education is an institution
which prevents self-determination—at this point it
must change or be destroyed.”
Banks related his experiences in Bureau of
Indian Affairs schools and remarked, “Somewhere
along the line I was taught to be ashamed of my own
heritage. I was compelled to hate my own people,”
he said.
Banks characterized the American government
as “blind and deaf.”
“What the government cannot commit itself to
do is end racism,” he commented. Like all the panel
members, Banks agreed with Edwards’ statement
that education’s focus is toward more and better
jobs, more money and better hourses. All asserted
that the educational system must change.
Bob Morales called education an “in
tellectualized version of racism.”
He suggested killing all government funded
programs at the University and starting a third
world. He also recommended having a one-year
moratorium on education, six months of which
would be spent letting the student catch up and six
months of which would be devoted to dealing ex
clusively with people of all colors.
Banks summed up the discussion on a hopeful
note. “Through sensitive universities, some an
swers (for racism) can come about.”
‘New scholarship needed’. . .
Continued from page 1
Through the educational
process, students are “forced to
learn that Africa is a backward
nation,” said Banks. But, he
added, the difference between the
U.S. and Africa is that African
‘reservations’ are where they
keep animals, and here they are
set up for people. I would
seriously question as to which is
the backward nation,” he said.
Calling for minorities to
fight against oppression, he
said “Blacks, Reds and Chicanos
have fully realized that to seize
the opportunity we must seize
total control of our communities
and we must not stop fighting.”
Banks said the fight must
continue until a Black, a Mexican
American and an Indian have
each been elected to the
presidency of the United States.
However, Banks emphasized
that he didn’t want any part of a
nation that condones racial
discrimination. “We were the
first people here, but are the last
citizens,” he said.
Calling the audience from the
auditorium bleachers to the floor
close to the mikes, Benton began
saying “You, who are sitting here
on the floor, are demonstrating
what the Indian people have been
trying to say to invaders—‘Walk
with me and I will walk with you.’
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“This nation was built on
equality, justice, freedom for all.
But, do we have it? We’ve never
had it. But, we can, if we sit and
work together like now,” he said.
However, the present
educational system hasn’t taught
Whites much about Indians, said
Benton. “You’ve been living on
our land for 350 years and still
don’t know anything about us.”
Whenever Whites go to a
reservation they want to talk with
Indians, eat with them, and “put
on a little beadwork. But you
know what they do at night? They
go to the nearest motel. They
won’t live with us,” he said.
“When the white man came
here he was running from op
pression—he was looking for
freedom, but didn’t give it,” he
said.
Benton, concluding with a
“prayer” thanking the White
man’s god for oppressors, told
the audience, “When you leave
here don’t walk by the Blacks like
you don’t know them; don’t walk
by the Chicanos like they’re
nothing; don’t look at the Indian s
like they’re nobody, because
you’re sitting on their land.
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